Inside the Murky World of “Functional Fragrance”

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This fall, Addison Rae did what many celebrities and influencers have done before and launched a perfume line. The three perfumes have a slight twist from other celeb launches, however; her Happy AF, Chill AF, and Hyped AF are on trend not just for their slangy names but also because they tout ingredients that promise to “boost your mood.”

Rae is not the only one to think fragrance consumers are after more than just smelling good. In 2019, the beauty supplement company The Nue Co launched its Functional Fragrance, a blend of palo santo, violet, and cardamom that promises to reduce stress, followed by Forest Lungs in 2020 and Mind Energy in 2021, which aim to produce some of the same health benefits associated with forest bathing and boost focus, respectively. Since 2016, natural perfume brand Heretic has incorporated wellness into its storytelling, including its September launch Dirty Hinoki, described as a “grounding” scent inspired by hinoki’s potential ability to alleviate depression.

The growing slate of mood-boosting fragrances represents not just a demand for a wide array of “wellness” products, with everything from bath bombs to oat milk promising such effects, but also consumers’ changing relationship to perfume. “Perfume for the longest time was really the attainable luxury end of a luxury brand,” says Douglas Little, founder of and perfumer for Heretic. “And now I really think that that ideology for a certain group of people has faded, and the idea that the fragrance is made from better materials and it also, by the way, can help you relax, I think this is really the next wave of what we’re seeing in personal wellness.”

The market for wellness products is in of itself nothing new, says Céline Manetta, senior consumer science manager at International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. (IFF). But what’s changed in recent years, and especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, is the acceleration of demand for new products that address all aspects of life. “It’s really 24/7 wellness. It’s a continuous search for positive emotion,” Manetta says. Fragrance is just the tip of the iceberg; an April 2021 report from consulting company, McKinsey, estimates the global wellness market to be worth more than $1.5 trillion, with 42 percent of consumers in their survey reporting wellness to be a top priority.

Enter Aromachology

That opens up an opportunity for fragrance developers like IFF to further their research into aromachology, the study of aromas on human behavior and emotion (aromatherapy, though similar, focuses exclusively on the use of natural essential oils for therapeutic purposes). This spring, IFF launched its Science of Wellness program to create scents that can purportedly aid in relaxation or boost energy. In recent years, Givaudan has developed new wellness-oriented technologies like DreamScentz, which uses fragrance aimed at enhancing sleep. Studies outside the fragrance world have also investigated fragrance’s health benefits, with studies finding for example that linalool, found in lavender essential oil, may ease anxiety.

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